Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Amazon's new $100 Echo is a disappointment for anyone looking to upgrade from the original model. Sure, it's nearly half the price, but its sound quality is also significantly worse. With that in mind, the $150 Echo Plus seems like a far better successor on paper. It features better speakers and a built-in smart home hub. It's still not a must-have upgrade -- a testament to how much Amazon got right at the beginning -- but at least it offers some improvements over its predecessor. Pros Sounds better than the first Echo Has access to thousands of Alexa skills Slightly cheaper than before Cons Smart hub feature is pretty basic $100 Echo is a better deal Not a huge upgrade for first-gen Echo owners The Echo Plus is a minor upgrade over the original Echo, with slightly better sound. But its much-touted smart hub feature is pretty limited, and it's not a significant improvement overall for existing Echo owners. The $150 Echo Plus is in a curious spot when compared with the other smart speakers out there. Amazon's $100 model makes more sense for anyone just dipping their toes into the Alexa ecosystem. And if you're looking for the best sound quality, you're better off with the $199 Sonos One. If this review helped please hit thumbs up as amazon uses this to tell if reviews are getting noticed and what people’s thoughts are!